Hazardous Material Maritime Industry Response Training Safety Initiative (HazMIRTSI)

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Program Abstract Accidents, natural disasters, exposure to hazardous agents and terrorism are constant threats in the maritime industry. Hazardous materials incidents are generally infrequent but can be catastrophic when they occur, resulting in serious injury and death. Workers in the maritime environment have limited experience responding to hazmat emergencies, limited knowledge of emergency procedures and often limited rapid access to qualified emergency responders or hazmat units. The Institute for Disaster and Emergency Preparedness (IDEP) within Nova Southeastern University (NSU)'s Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine (KPCOM) is a regional, national and international resource for the provision of educational services, trainings and programs focused on all-hazards preparedness, disaster and emergency preparedness and hazardous waste worker safety training. IDEP began as a task force shortly after 9/11 and is now formally an Institute that is widely recognized for its expertise with major support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Florida Department of Health. For nearly five years, Project Hazardous Material Maritime Industry Response Training Initiative (HazMIRTSI), a Hazmat Preparedness Disaster Training Program (HPDTP), funded by a cooperative agreement with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), builds on existing programs and relationships established by IDEP and the greater SEAMIST program (a Hazardous Waste Worker Training Program (HWWTP) targeting health and safety for personnel whose jobs may bring them into contact with hazardous materials). Specifically, Project HazMIRTSI has extended our presence from the Gulf and Atlantic states to the northern Atlantic states of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maine, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Project HazMIRTSI trains fire rescue and emergency medicine service (EMS) personnel to respond to emergencies at sea and in port as well as preparedness and recovery training to healthcare workers, volunteers and communities impacted by disasters, with emphasis on hurricanes and flooding. To date, HazMIRTSI has trained approximately 1,000 first responders to effectively handle disasters on our waterways, reducing and possibly eliminating incidences of injuries and deaths among first responders and community members. In carrying Project HazMIRTSI forward, we aim plans to expand our disaster response training to 3,000 skilled response personnel, provide new disaster preparedness training to 1,000 community members and continue to revise, optimize and enhance our training curricula and evaluation protocols.